A digest of events, trends, issues, ideas and journalism from and about rural America, by the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, based at the University of Kentucky.
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Tuesday, October 25, 2016

States ranked by cancer deaths linked to smoking

A study by the American Cancer Society, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, ranks every state for cancer deaths in 2014 related to smoking, and the top five states are all in the South. The study looked at 12 cancers: acute myeloid leukemia and cancers of the oral cavity and pharynx; esophagus; stomach; colorectum; liver; pancreas; larynx; trachea, lung, and bronchus; cervix uteri; kidney and renal pelvis; and urinary bladder. Among the 167,133 deaths in 2014 from those cancers, 28.6 percent were attributed to smoking. (States and D.C. ranked by cancer deaths related to smoking in 2014)

The study also ranked states by smoking-caused cancer deaths among men (103,609) and women (63,524). Nine of the top 10 states for men and six of the top 10 states for women were in the South. Arkansas led in deaths among men, with 39.5 percent. Utah was the only state under 30 percent, at 21.8. Among women, Kentucky had the highest percentage 29. Utah had the lowest, at 11. Only Utah, California and Hawaii were under 20 percent. (Read more)

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This blog generally follows traditional journalistic standards. It's not about opinions, though you may read one here occasionally. It's about facts that we think will be useful to rural journalists, non-rural journalists who do rural stories, and others interested in rural issues. We don't try to be provocative, so we don't generate as many comments as most blogs with the level of traffic we have, but we certainly invite comments -- and contributions, to al.cross@uky.edu. Feel free to republish blog items, with credit to us and the original source.